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Author Topic: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve  (Read 11018 times)

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Offline Marc St Louis

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Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« on: January 02, 2018, 12:08:35 pm »
I started this bow last Summer then put it aside to focus on other things till a couple weeks ago when I pulled it off the shelf and started tillering it  :BB.  I'm not terribly fond of Buckthorn for self-bows, I've had a few fail, but it is something else when backed.  I started out with billets and steam bent the recurves then used dry heat to reflex the limbs, didn't heat-treat though.  I glued the billets together and then glued in 5" of reflex into the bow of which it kept 3".  The end result is impressive and string tension is quite high.  The limbs are just over 1 1/4" tapering to 3/8" tips and have a shallow D section.  The bow is 65" long, I could have made it shorter, and it pulls 53# @ 28".  I shot it several times in my shop using 520 grain arrows and it is very fast  (SH), probably one of the fastest bows I've ever made. I was going to chrono it but the lighting is not the best, although I may try and set some lighting up later on.  Very tricky shooting it indoors as it seems to want to drive the arrows through whatever I put in front of it and I can't afford holes in my door, not with -30 degree temps outside  (S).  Here's some pics





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Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

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Offline Del the cat

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2018, 12:23:50 pm »
It certainly looks ::)  fast :). Well it looks gorgeous too :)
Del
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Offline bubby

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2018, 12:45:40 pm »
I love the bend you get Mark, love a maple backer too all in all, I love it😃
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Offline upstatenybowyer

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2018, 12:57:09 pm »
Marc, those are just about the sweetest looking profiles I've ever seen. If I was a betting man, I'd say it at least shoots in the high 170s, approaching, if not breaking 180.

Make way for the king of the bend! )P(
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"Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands."

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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2018, 01:32:18 pm »
Welcome to the wonderful world of buckthorn. Id take a stack of it if I could find any. Nice bow, Marc.
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Offline ntvbowyer1969

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2018, 01:55:12 pm »
Beautiful bow,great shape,and awesome tiller...it has it all.
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Offline PatM

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2018, 02:16:24 pm »
That looks great and remarkably clean for Buckthorn.

 I've never used a piece yet but I've cut a lot of it  and the wood just looks like good bow wood.
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Offline Bob Barnes

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2018, 02:20:16 pm »
That bow looks like a Marc bow... :)  and that's a good thing!  Happy holidays my friend.  I have never even seen a buckthorn bow, not even at MoJam.  (-S
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Offline Badger

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2018, 02:21:57 pm »
  One of my favorites of yours Mark, that would make a killer flight bow.
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Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2018, 03:19:11 pm »
Thanks guys

The elasticity of Buckthorn is very high.  I would certainly classify it above HHB and it's probably even better than Osage.

Quote from: upstatenybowyer on January 02, 2018, 12:57:09 pm
Marc, those are just about the sweetest looking profiles I've ever seen. If I was a betting man, I'd say it at least shoots in the high 170s, approaching, if not breaking 180.

I sent a bow of this design to Steve for testing many years ago, it was Ash backed HHB.  He was getting just under 190 fps with it and I'm sure this bow can easily get that

As I said though, I'm no longer interested in making self-bows out of the wood but it would probably be great sinew backed. 

I would love to have a stack of it as well Chris, fortunately I do have enough for at least a dozen bows like this.
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Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

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Offline barebo

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2018, 03:38:20 pm »
I can't believe the consistent tiller profiles on your bows regardless of the materials used - I'm humbled every time I see one.
Would buckthorn be growing in central NY state? We have what locals call"thorn apple" that has small orange fruit and nasty 2" thorns.
Another beauty.
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Offline barebo

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2018, 03:48:07 pm »
I did some quick research and have seen several of these Buckthorns in our local woods. This will give me incentive to grab my pruning saw and take a hike!
Man, that's a sweet looking bow!
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Offline leonwood

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2018, 04:04:26 pm »
That is another stunner! Glad you post more bows lately because I can't get enough of seeing them.
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Offline stuckinthemud

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2018, 04:06:10 pm »
Sorry if I appear to be a bit slow, it's because I am :-) . If I read it right, you pre-formed the reflex and recurve bends in the buckthorn, then glued them together with deflex at the handle then glued in additional reflex when you added the backing?  So was the backing strip all of one piece or also two billets, and (maybe pushing my luck) what is the thickness, mid limb, of the buckthorn and maple? Finally, did you pre bend the recurves in the maple before glue-up?  Really love the bow, will add it to my list of one-days...
« Last Edit: January 02, 2018, 04:36:42 pm by stuckinthemud »
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Offline joachimM

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Re: Maple backed Buckthorn recurve
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2018, 04:56:18 pm »
Great bow, as usual.
Looks very fast, low stack. I would like to shoot a bow like that one day, even better, make one.
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